Devious Maids Cast Glows on Latina Magazine Cover (PHOTO)

The cast of Devious Maids may be gearing up for the April 20 premiere of their show's second season — and looking radiant on the May 2014 cover of Latina magazine — but that doesn't mean that they've forgotten the controversy that hounded the Lifetime soap during its first season.

And star Judy Reyes says she even joined in the criticism — at first, anyway. "My knee-jerk reaction was, 'Why the f—k does it have to be about maids?'" she remembers. "Latinos were defensive because we've been maligned in media. We've always played gardeners, gangbangers, maids, and sluts in films that star white people. But this is not that. We're trying to represent these women with as much dignity and honesty as we can."

And executive producer Eva Longoria — whose Desperate Housewives boss, Marc Cherry, created Maids — believes that the show's success could be a game-changer for talent of color. "The fact that we are on the air with this amazing show means we've won about 20 victories already. From the writing to the casting to the producing to the fighting for marketing dollars — there are so many challenges we overcame to get to this point."

Read more about the return of Devious Maids in the May 2014 issue of Latina — then tune in for the show's return on April 20 at 10 p.m. ET on Lifetime.